Raúl Castro admits changes are needed but wants to defend socialism nonetheless
Iconic Cuban Revolution leader Raúl Castro Friday opened the Cuban Communist Party convention which will mark the end of his days as First Secretary by making it clear nobody had forced him to make that decision and he supported a closer dialogue with giant neighbours the United States.
I ratify from this party congress the will to develop a respectful dialogue and build a new type of relationship with the United States, without renouncing the principles of revolution and socialism, he said.
Raúl was co-author in 2014 of the thaw between the two countries together with Barack Obama, which ended half a century of strong confrontation and reactivated diplomatic relations, broken since 1961 and reestablished in 2015. However, Republican Donald Trump dismantled much of the progress between the two countries and went back to the embargo in force since 1962.